


Light on the Hill

by deanwinchesterissaved



Series: Hey world, it's me ya believer [1]
Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: 17 year old Ryan Bergara, Demon Shane Madej, Mild Angst, Shane is a good demon, hand-wavy magic bs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-26
Updated: 2019-11-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:40:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21570040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deanwinchesterissaved/pseuds/deanwinchesterissaved
Summary: Ryan and his friend go investigate an abandoned hospital when something strikes, leaving Ryan alone and struggling to make it home. A stranger appears to lend him a few lights to guide his way.Inspired by Ryan's 2009 trip to the Queen Mary and a crazy dream.
Series: Hey world, it's me ya believer [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1574269
Comments: 10
Kudos: 197





	Light on the Hill

The air was damp in a way that was unusual for California, pressing down cold and heavy onto Ryan's body, limping slightly. He curled an arm around himself, the flannel and shirt now felt too thin to guard against the chill in the night. His hand tightened on the strap of the backpack that carried the bulky recorder he had brought with him on the investigation. Not that it works anymore. 

In the ramshackle hospital at the edge of the city, he had seen something dark and looming coming at him from the end of a black hallway, and Matt saw it too. The thing had lunged for the other boy, and Ryan had lurched forward to put himself between the darkness and his friend. The boy had booked it, not stopping even when Ryan was knocked down, foot suddenly jerked back by something that distinctly resembled the grip of an icy hand. 

He had screamed to Matt for help, scared out of his mind of what could be tearing into him at any moment, but the other boy never looked back. A few moments later Ryan heard the sharp screech of tires.

The twisting in his chest had kept Ryan down on the dusty concrete, staring at where Matt's figure had disappeared in the doorway, even after the grip on his ankle melted away. Walking out of that place had been his body on autopilot to ensure its survival, his mind wasn't there at all. 

Nothing followed him. 

Ryan's foot hit a bump in the pavement and the jolt sent pain shooting up his leg from his bloody knee, the liquid matting the rough material of his jeans. The dark marks on his ankle tingled.

"Fuck." He hissed, voice scratchy from the screams. He started when his breath ghosted in front of his face, his hands were starting to get numb. Had it been this cold earlier?

He's going to have to pick up speed. It was at least a two-hour walk back to his house, and he didn't bring enough money for a cab. It is generally not recommended to wander around Los Angeles alone at three in the morning. 

Instead, he stumbled to the side of the deserted street and half-collapsed against the chipped concrete ledge, leaning his head back over the lip to rest on the icy surface. He was pretty sure he saw two men behind him five minutes ago, but he couldn't really bring himself to care, just tried to breathe in and out, in and out, his insides writhing. 

"You okay kid?"

Ryan kept his eyes closed. The voice didn't seem sinister, and if it meant him harm, there wasn't much he can do to prevent whatever was going to happen. 

"Hey, come on buddy, sit down. Your legs won't hold much longer."

Ryan did as the voice said, blame it on the exhaustion and emotional strain or something, but what he said was true, and his steady voice was a relief to Ryan’s scrambled head. 

"That hospital there's got something going on huh?" 

"How--" Ryan started, opening his eyes and peering at the man. Apart from his considerable height that Ryan could see even with the man hunched down to Ryan's eye level, he didn't look too much out of the ordinary. Straight nose, slightly wide head, eyes tilted down at the sides that now shone with something like pride and understanding. "You've been in there?" He asked finally. 

"Yeah." The gravity in his voice roused Ryan's confidence a little, and a part of his head thought absently that if his nerves weren't so shot he might have pursued the meanings the man had loaded onto that one word. 

"I saw something in there, and a hand grabbed my ankle." His words were slightly rushed, feeling a sudden urge to convince the man of what he had seen and get validation from someone that he wasn't losing it. He rolled up his pant leg with shaking hands to bare the purple marks on the joint, standing out starkly against his pale skin. He knew he was getting worked up again, could feel his breathing speeding up, but he didn't know how to stop the dangerous acceleration. "Please, I'm not crazy."

"I believe you, Ryan." The taller man kept their eyes locked, holding on to Ryan’s attention so he wouldn’t drop down into the endless spiral. The street was dark and the man’s eyes were almost all black. "I've seen it too."

Ryan gave in then, hugging his knees close, the weight of an arm looped around his shoulders grounded him to reality as he breathed and shook until exhaustion loomed over all else. He leaned into the man's side and felt safe, sitting right there on the side of an LA suburb road with the stranger. Somehow asking for a name didn't seem a concern at the moment. 

"It's not just all bad out there you know, there are good spirits too." A pause, then the hand on his shoulder gave a gentle squeeze, "Ryan, look." 

His other hand brushed through the air, and Ryan let out an awed huff of breath as he watched strands of light coalesce from the dark night around them, clinging slightly to the tips of the man's long fingers and spiraling down to his palm. Ever so slowly, the trickles of light swirl into a sphere that glowed with a brilliant white-blue light, bathing them both in its gentle radiance. 

"It's beautiful," Ryan breathed, and with an encouraging nod from the man, he cupped his thin hands so the man could nudge the swirling light into Ryan's palms. 

It was the loveliest thing he had ever seen, and even though it was obviously supernatural, just as the man was, his awe and amazement won over the lingering vestiges of fear. Warmth sank down into his hands and made its way to his chest. It was as if he was soaking up the joy and solace that the spirit had experienced over a lifetime, every surprise, every satisfaction, every bit of love collected, now given to Ryan to comfort and soothe. 

The man's smile was kind as Ryan relaxed, lifting his hand once more to gather a second, third, and fourth spirit, giving each a boost with his palm so they could hover around them, creating a little bubble of tenderness and tranquility on the chilly suburban street.

"Don't walk this world with fear just yet, there is so much more out there that you have not seen." The man said in a quiet voice, and Ryan finally managed to tear his eyes away from the light in his hands, eyes growing damp as he gazed at the man gratefully. He tried to memorize the lines of his face so that he would know him when they met again, but the details seem to slip from his mind as soon as he thought them. Belatedly, as if from within a dream, he blurts out, voice barely over a whisper, "I don’t even know your name."

The man's smile curved his eyes into the shape of crescent moons, and he gives Ryan's shoulder another reassuring squeeze before turning to face out into the night. “When the time comes, you’ll know me.” Voice still low, there was a new layer of tenderness, as Ryan’s eyelids drifted closed, mind slipping into the soft calm of sleep. “I will watch over you. Rest now. ”

And he did. 

Ryan woke up in his bed to a bright morning, wounds almost healed and warmth lingering in his chest.

Seven years later he goes to a demon-infested house with his co-host to investigate. He looks at Shane’s dark smiling eyes as the flashlight turns on, and he knows. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> So this took me a couple of days to pass my mental moral test, and I really hope some of the dialogue doesn't come off as weird or uncomfortable for anyone. (if it does please tell me and I'll fix it)
> 
> Please leave a comment to tell me what you thought of this little thing, thanks for reading!


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